Starting in the near future, both local residents and international travelers flying out of Belize’s municipal airports will face an additional new cost for their trips, after the national Cabinet gave formal approval to a $10 aviation security fee that will apply to every departing passenger. This policy change, outlined in an official Cabinet briefing released this week, is framed as a necessary step to bring Belize’s municipal airport security protocols in line with global modern standards.
As the national body tasked with overseeing the safety, security and operational efficiency of all civil aviation activities across Belize, the Belize Airports Authority will oversee the security upgrades the new fee will fund. Cabinet’s briefing notes that global aviation security requirements have shifted dramatically in recent years, driven by rising transnational security threats, rapid advancements in passenger and baggage screening technology, and more stringent international compliance mandates that all nations must meet to maintain safe air travel networks.
All revenue generated from the new $10 fee will be allocated specifically to closing the gap between Belize’s current security infrastructure and modern requirements. Government officials confirmed that the funding will go toward expanding and upgrading screening procedures, as well as supporting a slate of broader modernization projects aimed at reinforcing security infrastructure at municipal airports across the country.
Notably, the new fee only applies to passengers departing from municipal airports, and is separate from the existing international departure tax already collected from travelers leaving the country via Philip Goldson International Airport.
The push to strengthen Belize’s aviation security framework comes one year after one of the most high-stakes aviation incidents in the country’s recent history: the Holy Thursday hijacking of a Tropic Air commercial flight traveling from Corozal to San Pedro. During that incident, an armed passenger attacked the flight crew mid-flight and demanded the aircraft be diverted to the United States. Pilot Howell Grange, who sustained multiple stab wounds during the confrontation, successfully maintained control of the plane and navigated it to a safe landing. The widely reported incident fundamentally shifted the Belizean aviation sector’s approach to pre-flight security and passenger screening, prompting the urgent push for infrastructure upgrades that the new fee will fund.